TikTok Made Me Buy It Still Going Strong, Making Brands & Influencers Richer Than Ever
Did you know TikTok’s influence on our purchases is based on a theory that’s existed since the 1920s? Hypodermic Needle Theory, also known as Magic Bullet Theory refers to media’s power on audience. Basically, the messages to audience is like a magic bullet which enters the minds of audience and injects a particular message. When studying this theory the first thing to come to my mind is me as a consumer and how many times TikTok has made me buy something. TikTok is a magic bullet that rarely misses its target.
The influence of TikTok began innocently at first. Everyone trying out whipped coffee. Everyone baking banana bread. Hot Girl Walks. But brands began to take note of the influence the app had on the world and not a lot of time went by before everyone started making the same purchases, all influenced by TikTok.
Where do I begin? My purchases have been influenced by TikTok since it’s rise in 2020. My first TikTok purchase was the Revlon Hair Dryer Brush. I saw girls who looked like me, talked like me, all using and loving the brush. So I had to have it. But why?
Part of what makes TikTok a powerful platform for social selling is that users receive product recommendations directly from creators, not companies. Matter Communications found that 61% of people surveyed are likely to trust recommendations from a friend, family member, or influencer on social platforms. Conversely, only 38% are likely to trust recommendations that come from a brand on social media.
Now that brands are tapping into this knowledge, they have creators and influencers on tap to help them convert Social Media Users into paying customers. Making lucrative deals with influencers like Alix Earle. Alix is reportedly paid anywhere between $40,000 and $70,000 for a brand partnership, according to influencer marketing manager Jessica Liliann (Fox News)
This industry has taken a crazy turn and brands needs to make sure they’re keeping up. Some brands have taken their budgets and maxed them out in order to try and get the attention of TikTok buyers. Tarte recently put a lot of money to send influencers to Dubai in order to gain traction on TikTok. A collab with Sephora Middle East, the lavish jaunt included an Emirates business class flight and a private villa at the Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Hamra Beach, for invitees and their guests. All of that opulence is in honor of the launch of Tarte’s new Maracuja Juicy Glow Foundation and Blush Tape. In case you were wondering, a business-class flight from JFK to Dubai on American Airlines would cost you over $12,000 if you tried to book it today.
But honestly, Alix Earle has even influenced me. She’s beautiful and it’s hard not to want to buy products she uses in order to try and reach that beauty standard. What makes it even easier? She’s so honest about her unrealistic beauty standard, constantly being open about the work she gets done. She keeps it real and is beautiful? No wonder the internet loves her!
But sending influencers to Dubai and paying them a huge bag to talk about their products? When will this madness end.
Sources
Master Communications. “Matter Survey Reveals Consumers Find Influencers More Helpful and Trustworthy than Brands During the Pandemic.” May 26, 2020 08:45. Retrieved from ********https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200526005058/en/Matter-Survey-Reveals-Consumers-Find-Influencers-More-Helpful-and-Trustworthy-than-Brands-During-the-Pandemic
Tietz, Kendall. Fox News. “Viral TikTok sensation Alix Earle garners millions of followers: 'Like your hot best friend” January 17, 2023 6:00am EST. Retrieved from https://www.foxnews.com/media/viral-tiktok-sensation-alix-earle-garners-millions-followers-your-hot-best-friend
Hopkins, Katherine. Beauty Inc. “Tarte, Dubai and the Return of the Opulent Influencer Trip.” January 20, 2023. Retrieved from https://wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/beauty-features/tarte-dubai-and-the-return-of-opulent-influencer-trips-1235487314/
